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Philadelphia skyline with unbuilt proposals. Image and models by Thomas Koloski

The Unbuilt Skyline: a Comprehensive Look at Philadelphia’s Major Canceled Skyscrapers

8:00 am on March 22, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The Philadelphia skyline has grown enormously over the past few decades, yet there are many formerly planned towers that were once planned yet were never completed. Philly YIMBY recently ran a series of articles that shined a spotlight on a number of unbuilt buildings. The designs came in various unique shapes: some featured curves, some boxy, and others with sharp angled cuts that gave them distinct character. While some were notably more appealing than others, even the most subpar of these designs would have dramatically elevated the city’s already impressive skyline to a new level. Today we present what the skyline would have looked like if all of these developments were built.

Designing the Comcast Technology Center, The Tallest Skyscraper in Philadelphia

8:00 am on March 21, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The Comcast Technology Center at 1800 Arch Street in Center City has stood as Philadelphia’s tallest skyscraper since 2017, with a height of 1,121 feet, and Philadelphia YIMBY takes a look at various concepts through schematics and models of the tower before the design was finalized.

Broad Street Station with City Hall. Photo from City of Philadelphia, Department of Records

A Look Back at “the Chinese Wall,” an Elevated Viaduct that Once Ran Through Center City

8:00 am on March 17, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In the late 1800’s, ten city blocks in Center City were converted into an elevated railroad spur that serviced multiple rail lines, connected to the Broad Street Station just to the west of City Hall, near the current space Dilworth Park. A massive train shed stood behind the station, rising multiple stories tall and prominent from many directions. Designed by the Wilson Brothers, the project was developed by the Pennsylvania Railroad and was completed on December 5, 1881. The centerpiece was a five-story Victorian Gothic headhouse facing City Hall.

One Meridian Plaza (left) in the Philadelphia skyline. Photo via Daily Press

The Tragic Story of One Meridian Plaza

8:00 am on March 16, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

One Meridian Plaza was a 492-foot-tall, 38-story skyscraper that used to stand on the current site of the Residences at Ritz Carlton and the W/Element Hotel at 1416 South Penn Square in Center City, across from City Hall. The building began construction in 1968 and opened in 1972, just after the construction of the 1980’s skyscraper boom. Designed by Vincent and Kling and Associates and developed by Girard Bank and Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance, the tower was extensively damaged by a fatal fire in 1991 and demolished in 1999.

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Massing Renderings of the 1987 Skyline

8:00 am on March 9, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The iconic Philadelphia skyline has dramatically expanded since the completion of One Liberty Place in 1987. Philly YIMBY presents exclusive massing renderings of the 1987 skyline, reflecting the beginning of a period that saw rapid development in Center City.

Mandeville Place rendering. Image via Richard Meier and Partners Architects

Revisiting Mandeville Place, a 607-Foot-Tall High-Rise Once Proposed at 2401 Walnut Street in Center City West

7:30 am on March 8, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Philly YIMBY’s “unbuilt” series continues with Mandeville Place, a slender, 607-foot-tall high-rise proposed at 2401 Walnut Street in Center City West in the mid-2000s. Designed by Richard Meier & Partners Architects and developed by Bedrock Group LLC, the 43-story skyscraper would have joined an existing eight-story building to the south, which would have been converted into hotel space. A shared amenity rooftop was planned between the two structures. The tower would have featured 45 condominium units that would have offered dramatic views of the skyline.

Waldorf Astoria looking northwest. Image via Cope-Linder Architects

Looking at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Once Proposed at 1441 Chestnut Street in Center City

8:00 am on March 3, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Today’s entry in Philly YIMBY’s ongoing “unbuilt” series is the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Philadelphia, proposed at 1441 Chestnut Street in Center City, where the W/Element Hotel is now nearing completion. The 567-foot-tall, 59-story tower would have occupied the south side of the site of the former One Meridian Plaza, a 492-foot-tall office skyscraper damaged by a lethal fire in 1991 and demolished in 1999 (yesterday YIMBY covered a supertall structure proposed earlier at the site). Like the W/Element Hotel, the Waldorf Astoria iteration was also designed by Cope-Linder Architects, though the developers at the time were Mariner Commercial Properties, Inc. and Gatehouse Capital Corporation. The tower would have featured 181 hotel rooms and 126 residences.

Center City Tower rendering with Liberty Place. Image via Kling Lindquist

A Look Back at Center City Tower, Once Planned as the City’s First Supertall Skyscraper

8:00 am on March 2, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In the late 1990’s, a massive supertall was planned at the site of the 492-foot-tall One Meridian Plaza, an office skyscraper damaged by a fatal fire in 1991 and demolished in 1999. The proposed Center City Tower at 1414 South Penn Square in Center City would have been built where The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton and the under-construction W/Element Hotel currently stand. Designed by Kling Lindquist, the 1,050-foot tower would have become the first supertall skyscraper in Philadelphia, rather than the Comcast Technology Center, which took the title 20 years later. Notably, Comcast was also considering taking office space at Center City Tower, and the cable company’s decision to pull out of the project and to build Comcast Center at 17th and Arch Street instead was a major reason behind the supertall’s cancellation.

World Trade Square aka Renaissance Plaza. Credit: Alesker & Dundon Architects

Visualizing World Trade Square, an Unbuilt Multi-Tower Complex in Northern Liberties, North Philadelphia

8:00 am on February 28, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Yesterday Philly YIMBY published a feature story covering the 1,050-foot-tall Philadelphia World Trade Center supertall planned at 456 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard on the Delaware River waterfront in Northern Liberties in 1988. After the proposal fell through, developer Carl Marks Real Estate Group contracted Alesker & Dundon Architects to redesign the project as four shorter yet still impressive skyscrapers, which were to take up most of the 5.5-acre site. The development would now be known as World Trade Square, and later as Renaissance Plaza.

Philadelphia World Trade Center looking northeast. Model by Thomas Koloski

Revisiting the Unbuilt Philadelphia World Trade Center Supertall Proposal

8:00 am on February 27, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In 1988, plans were revealed for a 1,050-foot-tall, 65-story Philadelphia World Trade Center supertall at 456 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard on the Northern Liberties waterfront. The tower would have stood just to the north of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, located close to the boundary between North Philadelphia and Center City. The plan, which later evolved to the World Trade Square project, consisted of three shorter high-rises alongside the main tower. The skyscraper was designed by Kling Lindquist, which was also bend the Bell Atlantic Tower and the unbuilt Center City Tower. Carl Marks Real Estate Team, along with Lance Silver and Stuart Harting, were the developers.

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